PCI Geomatics supports CARTOSAT-1 satellite data
PCI Geomatics announced that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Antrix Corporation Ltd. to develop an interface that integrates CARTOSAT-1 satellite data products in Geomatica, PCI Geomatics image-centric geospatial software. Antrix, a corporate arm of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), launched the CARTOSAT-1 satellite on May 5, 2005, to provide stereo data for advanced and large scale mapping applications.
www.pcigeomatics.com

250 Village resources centres by March end

As many as 250 Village Resource Centres (VRCs), aimed at providing
locale-specifi c information to rural population by effectively using
satellite techonology, will be set up in the country by March end this year,
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman G Madhavan Nair said.

Forest cover change in Andaman and Nicobar islands
The damage from last December’s tsunami has been counted in the Andaman and Nicobar islands and it is huge. The islands’ forest cover has taken a big hit, marine life has been badly affected and some famous beaches have vanished. India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests report says the tsunami has badly devastated the islands’ ecosystem. Conducted post-tsunami by ISRO through satellite mapping and released recently, the study found forest depletion of up to 27 per cent in islands like Nancowry and Trinkat. In the Nicobar group of islands, 12,224 hectares of forest cover was lost. Comorta, Nancowry and Katchal saw major coral reef erosion. The report says in some places the entire coral reef area suffered. Satellite images showed that the mangrove trees facing the waves were the worst hit. Extensive areas have turned barren or have been totally eroded in the tsunami’s wake. Some major beaches — big tourist attractions — have almost disappeared. The Noncowry and Trinkat beaches in the Nicobar group of islands have vanished. What remains are just barren rocks. Offi cials say it will take years for new beaches to be carved out from the sea. Marine life, too, has been hit hard. The nesting beaches in the Nicobar group of islands have almost vanished as the islands have gone under the sea by one to three metres.
www.hindustantimes.com

Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath
Hurricane Katrina severely pounded the Gulf Coast of U.S. with great force at daybreak on the 29th of August. Arriving with 145 mile an hour wind speed, the storm left more than a million people in three U.S. states without power and submerged highways. Hurricane Katrina, formed in the Bahamas in mid-August and struck South Florida on 25 August, killing nine people and leaving a million more without electricity. European Space Agency’s multisensor Envisat satellite has gathered a unique view of Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico. Envisat simultaneously acquired these images at 1550 UTC (1150 US Eastern Daylight Saving Time) on 28 August, with its Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) and Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR). While an optical image shows characteristic spiralling cloud patterns, a simultaneous radar observation pierces through the clouds to show how Katrina’s 250- kilometre-an-hour winds scour the sea surface. www.sciencedaily.com

Microsoft releases a beta of Virtual Earth
Microsoft released a beta of Virtual Earth, its web-based mapping service that combines local search with maps and aerial photography according to a recent report. The move comes some three weeks after Google released a beta of its Google Earth, and nearly a month after MSN unveiled a service combining satellite imagery with maps with its local search results. However, MSN’s Virtual Earth, like Google Earth, is focused primarily around maps and aerial views, allowing users to zoom in and out of maps or images and drag them around within the display area. MSN Virtual Earth for now covers only the U.S. and major Canadian cities, and offers fewer local-search options. http://www.marketingvox.com

Satellite imagery helps in…
…gauging cocaine
South America’s cocaine output rose by 2 percent last year, according to an U.N. report. The main source for data on coca production was satellite imagery of the production areas, backed by plane and helicopter observation and field studies on the ground. www.signonsandiego.com

Patong, Thailand gets disaster alert system
The first sites to broadcast warnings in the event of an emergency at Patong beach, Phuket will be operational this month as part of a national disaster early warning system, according to the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA).

These will become the first of between 40 and 50 locations in six provinces facing the Andaman Sea with loudspeakers to broadcast information in the event of a natural disaster such as a tsunami wave.
http://www.bangkokpost.com